Sony’s PlayStation 4 has so far significantly outsold the Xbox One in the games console market, having shifted over 25 million units globally compared to 13 million for the Microsoft competition. However, Xbox division chief Phil Spencer has insisted that catching up in sales is not a major aim.
In an interview with Eurogamer.net published today, Spencer described his priority as simply “growing Xbox”. Though he acknowledged Sony’s huge success with PlayStation consoles through “multiple decades of building a great product”, he added that his only aim is to “focus on Xbox”.
He went on to enthuse that his company is “growing Xbox year on year” and “seeing more people online, more games being sold, more consoles being sold”, leading him to “feel good about the trajectory we’re on.”
Indeed, despite the obvious sales discrepancy between the two consoles, Microsoft has a staggering array of Xbox One exclusive games lined up for later in the year – including Rise Of The Tomb Raider, Halo 5: Guardian and Forza Motorsport 6.
Microsoft also seems to be taking a sensible approach to the long term development of the Xbox brand, with Spencer noting that, though it is possible to “sell consoles by losing more money on hardware and building an unnatural business construct”, this risky strategy does not appeal to him. This generation’s console war, it seems, isn’t over just yet…